15 Best Games Like Dark Souls To Test Your Might

Some people love cutting themselves, some like hurting themselves in other ways, but the extremists go the extra mile and play Dark Souls. The entire Dark Souls series is like a torture unless you’re ready for it. This game makes you scream, curse, damage stuff, and often makes you go insane with its immensely difficult gameplay. Sadly, there are only 3 Dark Souls games out there, so if you want to keep screaming at your monitor screen then you are out of luck after completing these 3 games, just kidding. We bring you 15 amazing games like Dark Souls that will keep you busy and help you damage your computer hardware in different ways. So, here are the 15 best games like Dark Souls you can play:

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

One of the best RPG series of this generation, The Witcher 3 offers a lot more than Dark Souls in terms of story and gameplay. The game takes place in a fantasy land where you are The Witcher who fights against evil forces and monsters using arcane magic and sword fighting skills. The Witcher is a story about the lone-ranger, Geralt who is on a journey to get answers for the events in his life. This game offers a similar combat style to Dark Souls with powerful enemies who will mow you down in a second if you are not paying attention.The Witcher 3 has won several awards for its amazing gameplay and storyline, so it’s definitely a must try.

2. Lords of the Fallen

Lords of the Fallen is a much vibrant alternative to the Dark Souls games in terms of graphics and brightness. This game features much brighter environment, however, the gameplay is still similar to Dark Souls in terms of combat, upgrade mechanics, and movement. This is a more action-focused take on the Dark Souls combat system.

Lords of the Fallen does offer slower, more methodical boss fights similar to Dark Souls, but the main focus of the game is on the action. Combat is both satisfying and difficult at the same time. Each hit you land, feels like you earned it and each hit you take, shows your carelessness. Lords of the Fallen is a must try for all the Souls-franchise lovers as an alternate.

3. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate does not exactly follow the same formula as Dark Souls, but it does offer excitingly difficult boss battles that will leave you pulling your hair out. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate sports similar boss encounters and combat system where you have to manage your stamina, health, and resources while fighting gigantic monsters. You have to be smart about your health, stamina during combat. It’s very important to know when to attack, when to defend, and when to heal while fighting monsters otherwise you risk getting killed. The combat definitely gives it the same feel as Dark Souls so if you are a fan of strategic combat then this is the game for you.

4. Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight lets you embark on an exciting journey below the surface where a ruined kingdom lies filled with riches and bizarre monsters. It’s a 2D side-scrolling action adventure that will remind you of Dark Souls with its upgrade and resource gathering mechanics. The game encourages you to explore the humongous map as you wish. Most areas are unlocked from the start of the game, so you can explore each area early on.

Bosses are definitely no pushovers in this game. You will have to grind for a time to upgrade your hero and then take on difficult bosses. Each boss has a different set of moves that will test your reflexes during combat. Hollow Knight is a beautiful hand-drawn game that definitely provides a similar experience as Dark Souls.

5. Salt and Sanctuary

Salt and Sanctuary is like a love-child of Castlevania and Dark Souls series. If you wanted to play Dark Souls, but prefer the 2D settings and gameplay then Salt and Sanctuary is the perfect game for you with its amazing 2D graphics and a grim gameplay style similar to that of Dark Souls. You go around making your way through Sanctuaries, that act as checkpoints while collecting Salt which lets you upgrade your abilities and magical skills. The game is heavily inspired by Dark Souls and lets you enjoy the gloomy adventure in all the 2D glory.

6. Titan Souls

Titan Souls looks like a mash-up of The Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls in terms of graphics and gameplay. However, the game doesn’t take much inspiration taken from any game and offers something very unique of its own. If you loved the harder than life boss fights in Dark Souls then you are going to love Titan Souls because all it does is offer tough and tougher bosses for you to beat. The game has one simple rule, everything dies in a one-hit, so do you. Just find the weak spots for your enemies, dodge their attacks, and land that one killing blow. It sounds very simple and easy, but this is where it is similar to Dark Souls. Nothing is easy and you will die a lot. If you love challenging really difficult bosses then try Titan Souls.

7. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

One of the staples of the series. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night completely changed the way 2D action/adventure games worked. Most new 2D games are heavily inspired by Symphony of the Night. Even Dark Souls itself takes some inspirations from this exciting action adventure set in the Gothic world of Dracula and his monsters. Symphony of The Night plays very similar to Dark Souls but in a 2D world. You fight hordes of monsters, gather resources, upgrade your equipment and abilities, and fight huge monsters that are tough as nails. This is like playing a 2D Dark Souls with a much more interesting story.

8. DarkMaus

DarkMaus is like a complete reincarnation of Dark Souls. The only catch is that it involves mice, and evil monsters, and cats, and other mice enemies instead of the usual monsters and beasts. The gameplay, however, is top-notch and feels as if you were playing Dark Souls. You start off as a lonely little mouse (Maus) and you encounter ferocious beasts (Read: Cats) along with your path. The combat system is very authentic and you have to react fast to survive the onslaught of your enemies. Search for the answers that lie buried deep in this dark world and figure out why everyone has gone feral. If you love combat style variety, using different tactics and weapons to beat your enemies then DarkMaus is definitely worth a try.

9. Necropolis

The first look at Necropolis reveals an aesthetically appealing dungeon crawler with low-polygon characters and dark gloomy colors. However, the game doesn’t only offer cool graphics, but you get to explore countless dungeons for treasure and epic boss fights. Each dungeon is filled with rare loot and at the end of each dungeon lies a big bad monster ready to kill you. The slow and methodical combat system makes Necropolis a real Souls-like game where each landed blow feels quite earned. Necropolis is a beautiful game that provides you with a Dark Souls like combat style in a completely unique environment.

10. Exanima

Exanima is a heavily physics-based game. The combat requires you to relearn your Physics, if you did gimp on it in school. The game is a physics based dungeon crawler with a unique combat system that feels like a real extension of the Dark Souls combat system. Every time you take a swing or stab your enemies, it will entirely depend on the movement of your mouse. Swinging too hard will result in your hero facing the wrong direction after the swing and doing it in the wrong position will end up in you stabbing the ground. Not entirely like the Dark Souls games, but Exanima feels like a natural extension of the Souls games. Definitely a must try if you want a unique combat experience.

11. Hyper Light Drifter

This indie love-child of The Legend of Zelda and Diablo series is a bit more difficult than your average Zelda or Diablo game. It’s actually hard enough that everybody calls it a Dark Souls-like game. Actually, it’s really hard, to the point where you end up pulling your hair, cursing at your monitor screen, and sometimes even damaging or destroying your hardware. Timing, patience, precision, and planning is the way to go during combat otherwise the bosses will just chew you up and spit you out in an instant. The bosses may even feel much harder than in Dark Souls because in Hyper Light Drifter the bosses are really aggressive and always on you. You have to time your drifts and attacks to overcome these big bad bastards. This is a sci-fi take on the Dark Souls style of play. Give it a whirl.

12. Castle in the Darkness

This is more like a retro-themed Dark Souls-like game with a really challenging game design. You get to explore a castle filled with the dark forces of an Evil Sorcerer who’s trying to destroy your peaceful kingdom. The game might look cheeky with its 8-bit graphics, but the gameplay will surely remind you of Dark Souls with its instant deaths and insanely difficult bosses.

Collect a plethora of different weapons, armor, and other magical items to aid in your journey. If you loved Castlevania or other 2D games then you will love Castle in the Darkness as it will satisfy both your 2D love and Dark Souls thirst in one game.

13. Book of Demons

Book of Demons actually started off as a parody of the original Diablo game. However, with its cute graphics and a unique hack n slash combat system, the game quickly gathered the positive attention of all the gamers. Not entirely like Dark Souls, but if you like to explore dungeons and fight demons along the way then Book of Demons is definitely a game worth checking out. It offers great gameplay, aesthetically pleasing graphics, and a varied gameplay time that depends on how much you want to play. All these features actually make Book of Demons a really enjoyable game that you can play anytime.

14. Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is set in a vast open world where you get to explore every bit of it. You get to encounter bosses and monsters that will rip you apart in an instant if you make a mistake. The combat system in this game is very rewarding and punishing at the same time. Each creature or monster has a weakness that you must find out and exploit in order to beat it. This adds a whole new style of combat experience to the game.

Great graphics, intriguing storyline, and a thoughtful combat system make Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen a must play game for all Dark Souls fans out there.

15. The Surge

The Surge is a Dark Souls-like game set in the distant future where humans have created exosuits to give them superhuman abilities and strength. This game offers a very similar combat system with a stamina bar. You focus on cleaving of different parts of your enemies to upgrade and enhance your own exosuit. The combat system is very unforgiving and the enemies are very difficult. The Surge is closest to Dark Souls you will get in a futuristic setting. Be wary of the enemies, as they will not be pulling their punches and will put you down any chance they get.

The Best Games like Dark Souls You Can Play

You think you can take on these games? We recommend going slow and playing one game at a time unless you are a really brave person and want to take on multiple of these games at the same time, May the force be with you. Also, let us know if you think there are other Dark Souls like games out there that we might have missed. Mention them in the comments below.

Dilawer is a tech fanatic and a hardcore Xbox/PC fan. He moved onto the Xbox One and then a Gaming PC after giving up his beloved Xbox 360. He's loving the PC Gaming so far and enjoying every moment of it. If he's not writing about his favorite games on Beebom then you will find him on Xbox Live or Steam....or playing Heroes of The Storm on Battle.net